Amnesty International, Oxfam and Article 36, a group which co-ordinates opposition to such weapons systems, said humanitarian concerns were being ignored at the UN-sponsored talks and that they will on Wednesday call on Britain to resist US attempts to sanction what they described as a "licence to kill" with cluster bombs.

You ` d need CRB checks for all the volunteers at £60 a pop, a health and safety certificate, insurance, an entertainment licence from the council (renewable annually) so they can have banjo lessons, a licence to sell cola bottles and panda pops from the tuck shop, a hygiene certificate to handle said cola bottles.